THE ROLE & THE TEAM
As Senior Culture Researcher at Zalando, you will be our cultural radar, blending deep, seasonal cultural foresight with rapid, real-time intelligence. You will track what matters now and forecast what’s coming next, ensuring Zalando’s creative, content, and marketing teams stay emotionally resonant, on-tone, and ahead of cultural shifts. This is a role for someone who thrives in both the slow burn of research and the fast pulse of culture.
WHAT WE’D LOVE YOU TO DO (AND LOVE DOING)
Cultural (Trend) Research
Lead seasonal and annual cultural trend analysis across fashion and lifestyle (streetwear, designer, beauty, sport, kids).
Translate complex research into clear narratives and actionable insights for multiple business units.
Produce foresight reports and inspiration decks that inform product, marketing, and brand storytelling.
Operate a daily “cultural radar” using social monitoring, and human curation to detect emerging signals from platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, Discord, and more.
Filter noise, prioritise relevant signals, and translate them into actionable cultural opportunity notes for creative activation.AI-Augmented Insight
Use AI technology to cluster and cross-reference cultural signals with consumer behaviour data.
Establish workflows to speed up signal-to-activation translation.Writing, Editing and Presenting
Write, edit and distribute daily/weekly trend updates via newsletters or other mediums.
Deliver compelling in-person and virtual presentations of cultural trends to internal and external stakeholders, using storytelling, multimedia, and interactive formats to drive engagement.
Continuously experiment with presentation formats: from short-form video briefings to immersive trend experiences, to ensure trend intelligence is engaging, shareable, and easy to act on.Embedded Collaboration
Partner and collaborate with zStudios Creative teams, CSCC, Zalando Originals, Global Marketing, PR, and Global Social Media to ensure cultural intelligence feeds directly into campaign and content pipelines.
Adapt insights to each team’s needs, from deep subcultural studies to meme fluency checks and act as a cultural sounding board.Process Building
Create scalable workflows that integrate research into content production.
Maintain a shared cultural knowledge base accessible to all creative stakeholders.
Track KPIs for cultural resonance, speed-to-culture, and insight adoption.
WE'D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF
6+ years in cultural research, trend forecasting, or creative strategy: ideally in fashion or lifestyle.
Proven experience turning cultural insights into campaigns, content formats, or creative activations.
Fluency in subcultures, emerging formats, and Gen Z/Alpha digital behaviour.
Comfortable with AI and social listening tools
Exceptional synthesis and storytelling skills: able to make complex trends simple and inspiring.
Experience working cross-functionally in large, matrixed organisations.
Confident public speaker with experience delivering insights to creative, marketing, and leadership audiences.
Innovative content creator able to design new share-out formats (videos, podcasts, visual boards, live sessions) to bring cultural insights to life.
OUR OFFER
Zalando provides a range of benefits, here’s an overview of what you can expect. Ask your Talent Acquisition Partner to learn more about what we offer.
Employee shares program
40% off fashion and beauty products sold and shipped by Zalando, 30% off Zalando Lounge, discounts from external partners
2 paid volunteering days a year
Hybrid working model with up to 60% remote per week, actual practice is up to each team to best support their collaboration
Work from abroad for up to 30 working days a year
27 days of vacation a year to start
Relocation assistance available (subject to prior agreement)
Family services, including counseling and support
Health and wellbeing options (including Gympass)
Mental health support and coaching available
Drive your development through our training platform and biannual peer-to-peer review
INCLUSIVE BY DESIGN
At Zalando, our vision is to be inclusive by design. And this vision starts with our hiring - we do not discriminate on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation, personal expression, ethnicity, religious belief, or disability status. You are welcome to leave out your picture, age, or marital status from your application. We only assess candidates on their qualifications and merit.
We want to provide you with a great candidate experience. Feel free to inform us of any accommodations you may need, so we can best support you throughout the hiring process.
do.BETTER - our diversity & inclusion strategy: https://corporate.zalando.com/en/our-impact/dobetter-our-diversity-and-inclusion-strategy
Our employee resource groups: https://corporate.zalando.com/en/our-impact/our-employee-resource-groups
